Statement by President Stephanie Meeks

Yesterday, President Obama announced his FY13 budget proposal, which recommended significant cuts in several national preservation programs. The following is a statement by Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation:

“We appreciate that President Obama’s budget goal is to secure approximately $3 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years; however we firmly believe that the federal budget cannot and should not be balanced disproportionately on the back of historic preservation. Studies show that preservation creates jobs and revitalizes communities for current and future generations. While we are pleased that there is not a cut to the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF), we urge Congress to increase funding for the HPF. We are also hopeful that Congress will consider options to provide “bricks and mortar” grant funding for our most important national historic sites. The National Trust is disappointed however, that the administration has proposed a 46% decrease in funding for Heritage Partnership Programs, and a 6.2% reduction for the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Despite these proposed cuts, we would like to thank the administration for the proposed $4.6 million increase in the Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System, $1.2 million increase for the Bureau of Land Management's Cultural Resources Program, $13.5 million increase for National Park Service Operations, and $17.5 million increase in the National Park Service’s Cultural Resource Stewardship program. These increases are needed to protect and enhance the nation’s most spectacular cultural, historic and natural sites.”